1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to door seals and more specifically to door seals which inhibit spray impinging upon a door face from passage to an environment external of said door/face.
2. Prior Art
In the past, access doors communicating between a spray-impinging environment and an external, non-spray impinging environment relied either upon compressible gasket seals or upon intimate contact between door periphery and portal periphery to reduce or inhibit the passage of spray or spray residue to the non-spray-impinging external environment.
The use of compressible gasket seals or intimate contact generally required door latches, closures, or other means for inducing compression or seal intimacy. Where the plane of the closed door is of, horizontal, or nearly horizontal, the drainage locus of spray residue is indeterminate. Where the plane of the closed door is vertical or nearly vertical, spray residue tends to collect at the lower edge or edges of the door-portal interface, and to place greater stress or likelihood of leakage upon the corresponding lower portions of compressible gasket or intimate contact seals.
Certain non-planar gasket or intimate-contact seals imposed friction upon the opening or closing of the door, by virtue of sliding engagement. While prior-art door seals having non-planar interfaces between door and portal peripheries provided lengthened communication paths between spraying-impinging and non-spray-impinging external environments, compared to those having planar interfaces, spray or spray residue could collect in said interfaces and eventually reach the non-spray-impinging environment.
A need existed for a door seal resistant to spray or spray-residue communication from the impinging-spray environment to the non-impinging-spray, external environment which did not rely upon compressible gaskets or intimate interface contact, which provide a lengthened path between said environments less likely to be traversed by spray or spray-residue, without imposing friction in door opening or closure, and having an efficient drainage path for dispositon of spray or spray-residue. In horizontally disposed doors, a need existed for a determinate drainage locus. In vertically disposed doors, a need existed for drainage and diversion of spray or spray-residue away from the lower edge or edges of the door-portal interface, so as to reduce or eliminate stress or leakage at said lower edges.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved door seal.
It is further object of this invention to provide a door seal having lengthened path between spray-impinging and non-spray-impinging environments without imposing friction in door opening or closure.
Another object of this invention is to provide an efficient drainage path for disposition of spray or spray residue.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a determinate drainage locus for horizontally disposed doors.
It is also an object of this invention to provide, for vertically disposed doors, drainage or diversion of spray or spray-residue, so as to reduce or eliminate stress or leakage at lower edges of the door seal.